sweet sunday

 eli begged for muffins this morning, so we made blueberry ones. my kids just like PLAIN muffins though, so i kept a few plain for them.  we also made blueberry crisp the other night and it was soo good. i'm having blueberry cravings apparently.  moving on...

 i think my mom used to fix my hair like this sometimes when i was younger, because i had serious deja vu this morning with ivy. i don't easily see myself in her, but i did today. she loved it... such a girl.

 ivy's preschool friend around the corner had the cutest birthday party this evening... i took 100 pictures and she's not even my kid :) i thought it'd be weird if i put them all on my blog.. ha but here's a few from her backyard circus birthday! the kids had a BLAST. there were games to play to win little prizes, a funny clown, hot dogs, popcorn & cotton candy, grilled chicken kebabs, little homemade cheese puffs, fruit, cutest stamped clown bags, susie cakes. beautiful afternoon and just pure joy watching the kids have so much fun. they are the sweetest family, and i hope to become better friends.

blueberry muffins
blueberry crisp

over & out!

ivy goes to pre-k

august 21, 2013
kirk house preschool
menlo park, ca
MWF 9AM - 12PM
TH 1- 4PM

this is ivy's second year in preschool, and her second year at kirk house.
i love her school and have been so happy and grateful for this sweet place for her during the morning.
she's now going 3 mornings a week, plus a special afternoon class that's a little more structured, helping to prepare them for kindergarden. she loves it loves it.
she has the same teachers as last year, and the same rooms, it's all very familiar and she didn't skip a beat. mostly the same children from last year, a handful of new ones. i think 22 total, with 5 teachers. the whole little school is open to them (it's small), and they are free to roam about from room to room. ivy usually starts in the art room, then moves to the dress-up area, does a project with a teacher, plays outside, has snack and "table time" with her small group teacher, they talk about the scripture verse for that week and different topics..  there are 4 rooms and a playground. each friday there's a bible based puppet show with teacher carol. it's a sweet little place and i just can't say it enough!

we made our favorite oat bran muffins with sprinkles for breakfast,
 ivy wore a little gap polka dot dress,
her gold jellies, and a pony tail.
the students wear jackets in the morning year round because mornings (and evenings) are cold here. ivy's not a huge fan of them though, so she usually takes it right off and puts it in her cubby. #11 this year. (she might just be wanting something to put in her cubby, i'm not really sure.)
she took the envelope from my hand as we were walking in and said with squinted eyes and a nodding head, "thanks mom. i need to carry my information." eli loves her school too.. but he misses her while she's there :( it's nice to have some eli time... for a few more months at least!

 we had dinner at k's office... pizza and ice cream trucks outside.
we celebrated the last day of summer/first school day with huge ice cream cones.

although he's tiny by this truck, he looks so old to me here

here's to a sweet, calm and joyful fall!

today

My poor blog.
I'll just start with today and try to fill in later what I can.
Not that today was anything extraordinary - just a starting point.

so, first things first... i am sitting in bed (alone, k is out of town, very sad) eating a version of giada's chocolate chip cookies. and yum. ok, moving on.

the kids ate leftover oat bran muffins for breakfast. i had special k and decaf hazelnut coffee.
just hold on.
it picks up...

we opened all the curtains, picked up the house, folded laundry, did the morning routine.
ivy did some morning reading in her cowboy hat (thanks craig) and cabo bangles. she LOVES frog and toad and anything else emily sends her way.

i'm trying to start back on having a scripture verse for the week. major slacking. so i said deuteronomy 31:6 for them.
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, for the Lord your God goes with you. He will never leave you or forsake you."
 eli got a kick out of saying "be STRONG!" really loud with his fist in the air and then cracking up. He is so happy and fun. Ivy has to be coaxed into repeating the phrases. It is like pulling teeth, but so it is.

we got dressed and went to the doctor for Ivy to finally have an official allergy testing. we've suspected she has a peanut allergy since she was born pretty much. thankfully, she got most of her nerves out the other day when we came for a consultation.. thinking that's when she was going to be tested. the nurse was really sweet, ivy sat on my lap facing me, hugging me while she got three "scratches" (as the nurse called them) on her back. (when i tucked her in tonight, she said "mom, those were NOT scratches!? they were super hard POKES or something.")  it was obviously painful and she cried (if k were in town, this for sure would've been a daddy job. i hate it), but she was all okay in a few minutes. eli was so sweetly sympathetic. so....she does have a peanut allergy, in the top half of the range, and i was instructed to have an epi-pen and benadryl around. oook.

then we went to our first day of gymnastics this fall... kids had a blast.

lunch... dropped ivy off at preschool...
put eli down for a nap....
laid in my bed....
(told you this would pick up ;)

febreezed everything down in the backyard with eli. poured water on it and scrubbed it.
that's his thing.

picked up ivy.... went home.. played...made spaghetti.... took baths...read, sang, brushed teeth, prayed, went to bed.  baked cookies.  just want to add eli did splendidly on the potty today. he is also wearing white boys underwear from target that are the cutest on his tiny hiney.

this is the worst written post ever. i am so tired and have no creativity or filter.
just a starting point.
oh yes and 30 weeks along today! :)

sweet baby

selfie from eli 

30.......

giada's hazelnut and chocolate chip cookies RECIPE

(omitted the toffee & hazelnuts, added coconut and grey salt. so goood)

1st riding lesson

       

Spring Down Equestrian Center

Portola Valley, CA

i signed ivy up for a mommy & me horse riding lesson

and we had the best time!

it's a little series that goes tuesday mornings in october

that i found online.

and it's a whole other world out there! 

so beautiful.

right around the corner.

she was so excited when we got out of the car

and were walking around a real barn with real horses.

she wanted to pet each one.

then she was fitted for a helmet and boots (too cute)

i got some too (not as cute) and we were set!

there were 4 or 5 other boys and girls.

her instructor was so nice and her horse's name is Oreo.

i didn't know what to expect but it was a real lesson- 

lots of instructions and she really had to concentrate.

kinda hard i thought but it was good for her :)

then they colored horse pictures. 

not sure how long she'll stay interested, but fun for now! 

tgif

happy weekend to you! 

first dentist visit

ivy's first dentist appointment:

september 6, 2:50PM. 

dr. eggers - menlo park. 

this really isn't a big deal or any kind of milestone, but i'm just documenting it anyway. 

probably because she was so hilarious during in it. 

she was excited to sit up in that big chair and see what was in store. 

maybe she was feeling special with all the attention.

our new dentist's office is really small and there may have been one other patient there. 

the staff was SO sweet and made it comfortable and fun.

still, she surprised me with how interested and attentive she acted. 

the nurse showed her all the tools and explained what they did. 

ivy paid good attention and let her put the different gadgets in her mouth.

when the dentist came in, she turned her little body towards him, 

placing her hands on his at one point (haha) 

and nodded and answered questions like she was 13. 

when he would make a joke and we laughed, 

she would put her hand over her mouth 

and let out a big fake laugh like she does.  

so funny. 

anyway, he counted her teeth, showed her everything up on the screen,

 gave her a new toothbrush and said to come back next year!  

and that was that. 

good girl ives! 

father/daughter day

last night i asked kevin if i could "stay in bed all day" saturday.

being the amazing man he is, he said "sure!" 

and it wasn't even sarcastic. 

well, that's not exactly how today went,

but it was close.

maybe even better.

kevin took ives to the children's discovery museum in san jose. 

those two have a thing for museums.

they came home for a pit stop,

then headed to palo alto's junior museum & zoo.

ivy's favorite parts of the day were

dancing with kevin in the disco room, 

 "the HUGE tortoise", the bats and peacock,

and telling me what they each ate.

(she's fascinated by what animals eat, especially when it's other animals.)

it was really nice 

hanging out with just e,

then reading outside during his nap

all by myself.

in the peace

and quiet.

but my favorite part

was when everyone was back home.

being in the kitchen getting dinner ready

kevin grilling

garth brooks playing really loud

the kids dancing around us

the weather perfectly cool

and knowing i'll think back on times like this

in the sweetest possible way. 

later on, ivy came running in my bathroom and told me

"mom! i just played basketball and golf. can you give me that?!"

(pointing to the deodorant).

then she flipped her shirt like that and did her thing.

ooh ivy.

happy weekend one and all!

kiwi crate

this is only our second box, but i really like it.
check it out here!

first day of preschool

august 23rd, 2012      nine o' clock.

i fixed her a big breakfast this morning.

cinnamon oatmeal, toast, strawberries and milk.

("wow! this looks delicious!" ha) 

she started getting fussy but i tried to insist she eat,

since it was going to be a whole three hours before i saw her again :)

i washed her hair in the kitchen sink, like my mom used to do with us,

threw on her clothes, 

asked her to please find a special place to put the 7 necklaces she had on, 

and out we went.

she was so excited and couldn't have been more easy to drop off.

we got there extra early.

she smiled the whole time.

she picked out her name tag and walked right in.

her face lit up when she found her own cubby (#17) and got to put her purse inside.

(her backpack is not here yet...bad mom).

she washed her hands, school rule, looked all around and sat by the train tracks.

i held eli, knelt down to give her a hug and told her i'd be right back.

"ok... bye mom." 

she said it quietly but happily.

i was relieved, although i fully expected it.

but as soon as i turned around, tears.

not hers - mine!

i held it together til i got to the car.

i buckled eli up and starting full on crying.

it was so unexpected, i was laughing at myself.

i hadn't had an ounce of this feeling all morning.

i heard it was really common for moms to cry after dropping their kid off for the first time,

but i honestly thought it was silly and knew that wouldn't be me.

wrong.

my sweet ives... not quite all mine anymore.

i'm so proud of her and love her so.

whew.
august is too much for this mama!!!

for your information:
i bought myself a journal today,
so maybe this will be more short & sweet :)

happy birthday ivy + eli

ivy is three and eli is one!

my babies are growing up.

it doesn't seem totally crazy... it seems just about right.

there's been a lot packed into the past 3 years, so it hasn't flown by.

after all, she's lived in texas, scotland, massachusetts, and now california.

and has visited mexico and charleston extensively :) london, paris, prague, vienna...

she's taken music, art and dance classes and ridden horses.

she wears underwear. and jewelry.

and loves to make believe.

she has a little brother and four (almost five) little cousins.

all at the ripe ole age of three.

so it really didn't sneak up on us.

even still, i can remember her birth like it was yesterday.

12:44AM august 18, 2009.

so long. so, so hard.

her eyes were navy blue.

i'll never forget it.

and now she's three!

a few words to describe ivy: 

creative, dramatic, energetic, feisty, sweet, independent, empathetic, maternal, 

smart, imaginative, shy, wild. 

all rolled into one. she's kind of a mini-me.

and eli.

his first year went by more slowly, since it was mostly in cambridge.

and pretty uneventful.

when i think about our time there, the first thing that pops in my head 

is carrying him around in that bjorn. 

we were attached.

up and down those wretched stairs,

in restaurants, stores and parks,

during church,

all through the town.

me and him. 

so easy, so sweet.

he only wore white onesies. (til like, last week).

i think i can say i successfully kept him a baby a good long time. 

he's had his share of flying though, to texas, mexico, cambridge, charleston and california.

he loves the water, animal crackers, the swing, his striped bear, walking, 

being tickled on the bed, shaking his head no, oat bran muffins,

 holding something in his hand (golf club, stick, pen) 

but probably his favorite thing is being held. 

he's such a mama's boy. 

lucky me. 

ivy requested an "ocean party with alllll the sea animals and a scuba diver in it".

she said that word for word if anyone asked her.

still not sure where that came from, and i really resisted the idea, but an ocean party it was.

mom & gen (with estie!) flew up thursday and planned the whole thing.

life savers!

it turned out really great and we had a fun time. 

{MENU}

ocean blue coolers

hamburger sliders - daddy grilled

seashell pasta

goldfish

fruit

homemade birthday cakes  + ice cream

m&ms

the kids made sea creature picture frames and sand bottles

almond white cake  + cinnamon chocolate cake 

party favor: fish cookie cutter + sprinkles,  ocean stickers

thank you gramma and aunt gen! we miss you already.

happy birthday ivy + eli!!!!